By: Jeanette Lopez
Charles Martin has fought to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS for more than ten years.
“I have a passion because I am a black gay man. I see how it is destroying communities,” said Martin.
As executive director of the South Beach AIDS Project, Martin understands that HIV/AIDS is still an epidemic especially in South Florida.
The South Beach AIDS Project is the only prevention program in the state of Florida that targets the gay minority infected with the disease. SOBAP provides testing, education and counseling. All free of charge. Although the program is geared toward homosexual males, they do often provide services to females.
“Any community we work in, we need to be a reflection of that community,” said Martin.
Martin is aware that the number of people infected with AIDS each year has declined by sixty percent since the early 90’s, but he knows that today AIDS is devastating minority communities across the United States. In fact, AIDS is the number one cause of death in Blacks between the ages of 25-44, and one out of every eight black males is living with HIV/AIDS.
“Our own people are dying, and the people dying are the poorest,” said Martin.
To Martin, AIDS infections in the United States could be prevented if the proper programs were used to educate people. Currently, abstinence programs are in use. These programs tell America’s youth not to have sex, instead of educating them on how to protect themselves from incurable sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS and Herpes.
“We teach kids not to play in the street, but we also teach them how to look both ways,” said Martin.
Martin believes the problem with abstinence programs lies in traditionalist thinking. People do not want to encourage sex, so they preach kids not to have sex at all.
“We are only giving them half the message. We are failing them,” said Martin.
Enough proof that abstinence programs are not discouraging teenagers from having sex is the current teenage pregnancy rate. Every year, 750,000 teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 become pregnant, and the United States has the highest pregnancy rates in the world. Most alarming is that pregnancy rates do not include those individuals who are sexually active, and do not get pregnant, which include teenage boys.
Martin sarcastically grins as he tells a story about a young girl that went to get tested for HIV/AIDS at the South Beach AIDS Project some years back. He asked her if she used condoms.
She responded that she was on the pill.
The pill is for birth control, and it does not prevent a girl from being infected with sexually transmitted diseases or from infecting someone else. Some are unfortunately misinformed.
Martin believes that the lack of information the young girl had is a common trait many American youths share.
Like the young girl, other people become infected this way. They are only concerned about not getting pregnant, instead of being worried about getting a terminal disease. Martin believes this behavior stems from being told not to have sex, instead of being taught how to protect themselves from diseases.
“I don’t think we should scare them as much as educate them,” said Martin.
Educating people could help the way people view those who are infected with HIV/AIDS. People who have the disease are often stigmatized.
“There is no other disease that you can say you have that people will look at you as if you have done something immoral,” said Martin.
It is the stigma associated with the disease that is hard for most individuals infected to overcome. People look at those infected as if they brought it on to themselves. They forget that it only takes one night and one mistake to become infected.
“People who look down on them have done the same things,” said Martin.
Poor education is at fault when some people are unaware that you cannot catch AIDS. The disease can be transmitted sexually, by sharing syringes or by blood transfusions.
As part of his job, Martin reads any news relating to HIV/AIDS. He remembers one story in particular about a 4 year-old boy who was forbidden from swimming in a campsite pool for fear he would infect others.
“This shows the ignorance about the disease that is still so pervasive,” said Martin.
Education is also at fault when people think they cannot become infected because they are not gay or drug users. The fact is AIDS can be transmitted by heterosexuals as well, but people only associate homosexuals with the disease.
Others assume since they are not considered high-risk individuals for contracting HIV/AIDS, they should not worry about the disease. Martin believes this thinking gives some a false sense of security. When in reality, they too are not safe from the disease. He believes that this false sense of security is why more people 60 years old and older are the becoming infected with HIV/AIDS.Martin agrees that HIVS/AIDS is an important issue that has not been getting enough media coverage.
“HIV/AIDS has been swept off the front page,” said Martin.
In the early 90’s, HIV/AIDS was spreading rampantly across the United States infecting over 100,000 people each year. The media then covered AIDS everyday because people were dying everyday. With the advent of new medication, people started living longer.
If the media covered HIV/AIDS, even if the abstinence program did not, people would be more aware about the disease. In Miami, there should be more coverage about the disease because this disease reflects a large part of the community.
No coverage has lead some to believe that there is a cure. In reality, there still is no cure.
With such high rates of AIDS infected people in the United States, more should be done. For Martin, the problem can stem from policy making. He believes that certain issues have divided this country. Some of which, are insignificant when compared to HIV/AIDS.
“We are more worried about keeping marriage between a man and a woman,” said Martin.
Martin believes it is more important to find a solution to the AIDS epidemic in this country. He cannot understand why within the United States, it being one of the most powerful countries in the world, some people are still dying from AIDS.
“I see how we are so worried about the simple things,” said Martin.
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Charles Martin has fought to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS for more than ten years.
“I have a passion because I am a black gay man. I see how it is destroying communities,” said Martin.
As executive director of the South Beach AIDS Project, Martin understands that HIV/AIDS is still an epidemic especially in South Florida.
The South Beach AIDS Project is the only prevention program in the state of Florida that targets the gay minority infected with the disease. SOBAP provides testing, education and counseling. All free of charge. Although the program is geared toward homosexual males, they do often provide services to females.
“Any community we work in, we need to be a reflection of that community,” said Martin.
Martin is aware that the number of people infected with AIDS each year has declined by sixty percent since the early 90’s, but he knows that today AIDS is devastating minority communities across the United States. In fact, AIDS is the number one cause of death in Blacks between the ages of 25-44, and one out of every eight black males is living with HIV/AIDS.
“Our own people are dying, and the people dying are the poorest,” said Martin.
To Martin, AIDS infections in the United States could be prevented if the proper programs were used to educate people. Currently, abstinence programs are in use. These programs tell America’s youth not to have sex, instead of educating them on how to protect themselves from incurable sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS and Herpes.
“We teach kids not to play in the street, but we also teach them how to look both ways,” said Martin.
Martin believes the problem with abstinence programs lies in traditionalist thinking. People do not want to encourage sex, so they preach kids not to have sex at all.
“We are only giving them half the message. We are failing them,” said Martin.
Enough proof that abstinence programs are not discouraging teenagers from having sex is the current teenage pregnancy rate. Every year, 750,000 teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 become pregnant, and the United States has the highest pregnancy rates in the world. Most alarming is that pregnancy rates do not include those individuals who are sexually active, and do not get pregnant, which include teenage boys.
Martin sarcastically grins as he tells a story about a young girl that went to get tested for HIV/AIDS at the South Beach AIDS Project some years back. He asked her if she used condoms.
She responded that she was on the pill.
The pill is for birth control, and it does not prevent a girl from being infected with sexually transmitted diseases or from infecting someone else. Some are unfortunately misinformed.
Martin believes that the lack of information the young girl had is a common trait many American youths share.
Like the young girl, other people become infected this way. They are only concerned about not getting pregnant, instead of being worried about getting a terminal disease. Martin believes this behavior stems from being told not to have sex, instead of being taught how to protect themselves from diseases.
“I don’t think we should scare them as much as educate them,” said Martin.
Educating people could help the way people view those who are infected with HIV/AIDS. People who have the disease are often stigmatized.
“There is no other disease that you can say you have that people will look at you as if you have done something immoral,” said Martin.
It is the stigma associated with the disease that is hard for most individuals infected to overcome. People look at those infected as if they brought it on to themselves. They forget that it only takes one night and one mistake to become infected.
“People who look down on them have done the same things,” said Martin.
Poor education is at fault when some people are unaware that you cannot catch AIDS. The disease can be transmitted sexually, by sharing syringes or by blood transfusions.
As part of his job, Martin reads any news relating to HIV/AIDS. He remembers one story in particular about a 4 year-old boy who was forbidden from swimming in a campsite pool for fear he would infect others.
“This shows the ignorance about the disease that is still so pervasive,” said Martin.
Education is also at fault when people think they cannot become infected because they are not gay or drug users. The fact is AIDS can be transmitted by heterosexuals as well, but people only associate homosexuals with the disease.
Others assume since they are not considered high-risk individuals for contracting HIV/AIDS, they should not worry about the disease. Martin believes this thinking gives some a false sense of security. When in reality, they too are not safe from the disease. He believes that this false sense of security is why more people 60 years old and older are the becoming infected with HIV/AIDS.Martin agrees that HIVS/AIDS is an important issue that has not been getting enough media coverage.
“HIV/AIDS has been swept off the front page,” said Martin.
In the early 90’s, HIV/AIDS was spreading rampantly across the United States infecting over 100,000 people each year. The media then covered AIDS everyday because people were dying everyday. With the advent of new medication, people started living longer.
If the media covered HIV/AIDS, even if the abstinence program did not, people would be more aware about the disease. In Miami, there should be more coverage about the disease because this disease reflects a large part of the community.
No coverage has lead some to believe that there is a cure. In reality, there still is no cure.With such high rates of AIDS infected people in the United States, more should be done. For Martin, the problem can stem from policy making. He believes that certain issues have divided this country. Some of which, are insignificant when compared to HIV/AIDS.
“We are more worried about keeping marriage between a man and a woman,” said Martin.
Martin believes it is more important to find a solution to the AIDS epidemic in this country. He cannot understand why within the United States, it being one of the most powerful countries in the world, some people are still dying from AIDS.
“I see how we are so worried about the simple things,” said Martin.
Visit Jeanette's Blog
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